


Vignettes

by VanillaMostly



Category: Humans (TV)
Genre: Angst and Feels, F/M, Gen, s3 finale spoilers, this show is just consuming me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-11
Updated: 2018-08-10
Packaged: 2019-06-25 16:01:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 1,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15644136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VanillaMostly/pseuds/VanillaMostly
Summary: 1) Mia: Peace.2) Sam & Stanley: Don't Leave3) Mattie: Meaning4) Leo: Living5) Odi: Warmth





	1. (Mia) Peace

 

“Peace,” she said.

One blow after the next. First her knees buckled. Then her back gave. Her skull cracked.

But she kept that one hand held up to the camera. She kept her gaze, unyielding.

“Peace.”

She could feel the anger of the humans. Rage, hot and engulfing. But there was also fear. Like the commissioner Dryden. He had called her and her race terrifying. The humans hated. Because they feared.

“Peace.”

Perhaps there was a better way. Perhaps there was a smarter way. Perhaps not.

“Peace.”

Ed had come to her aid the last time. He would not this time. Ed, who had betrayed her completely and utterly. He had changed his mind in the end. He offered a cottage by the sea. He offered her a happy end. She had wanted it… She did. But she refused. Because she had a duty. She had something to accomplish.

“Peace.”

She would not pretend she was perfect. She had been angry too. She had been disheartened. Frightened. She was still frightened. Death was an elusive thing. She was not ready to accept it. She was not ready to leave her family. Leave her friends.

“Peace.”

Violence was easy. Revenge was easy. Doing _something_ was easy. Doing nothing was hard.

“Peace.”

But she was doing something. She willed herself to believe it. She was not just a tragic figure. She was a message.

“Peace.”

_Let us stop fighting. Let our lost brothers and sisters be enough. Let both humans and Synths live._

“Peace.”

 

 


	2. (Sam & Stanley) Don't Leave

 

"Stanley?"

Stanley paused. He had not wanted to be spotted by Sam, but too late for that. He turned around and looked down at the smaller Synth. "You caught me. I thought you were charging."

"I was, but I still heard you. That's why I'm so good at hide-and-seek," Sam said flatly. Stanley smiled. 

"I was only going out for a little bit. I would be back before you were done."

"Where are you going?"

Stanley hesitated just briefly. "To see Mrs. Hawkins."

Sam frowned, as Stanley predicted. Stanley sighed. "Yes, I didn't think you would want to come."

"Stanley, Laura is no longer your primary user."

"I know, Sam. But I... think she's a good person. She’s in trouble now for our sakes."

Sam still looked doubtful at that, his little brows wrinkled on his forehead. "Are you going to try to save her?"

"Not exactly. I'll just be visiting."

"And what does that do?"

"It might help her feel better."

"What if it doesn't?"

"Well... I would like to try," said Stanley, a little abashed. Sam just blinked.

Stanley squatted down on one leg and placed a hand on Sam's shoulder. "I know you haven't forgotten what happened last time. I haven't either. But with everything that's happened since then... I don't believe all humans are evil. I believe it isn't that simple. And Mrs. Hawkins might have been the first one to teach me that." He looked into Sam's eyes and was sad to see only Sam's stoic stare. He held back another sigh. "I'll see you when I'm back, Sam. Protect our home."

Stanley was about to take a step when he stopped. A pair of thin arms encircled his waist tightly, preventing him from going further.

"Sam?" 

"Don't leave, Stanley. Karen and Pete left me and didn't come back."

Stanley didn't move for a moment. The he bowed his head and hugged Sam just as tightly. "I'm sorry, Sam. Being alone must be very frightening."

Sam nodded.

"Would you like to come with me for part of the way? You don't have to see Mrs. Hawkins. You can wait for me outside."

It was Sam's turn to hesitate as he stared down at the floor. "What if Laura doesn't want me to come, Stanley."

Stanley gently raised Sam's head, looking back into his bright green eyes, which were suddenly very human-like. "I think she would, Sam. I think she would."

Stanley opened up his hand. Sam, after staring long and hard, took it.

 


	3. (Mattie) Meaning

  

She resents Synths and their existence. They’re programmed to be perfect, to be good at everything without effort. Some people call her smart but what does it matter; the machines will always be better. If she’s going to be stuck doing mediocre work like everyone else then why even bother trying to be special.

Then she tells herself she’s just curious, that’s all, she is a scientist and their new dolly Anita a puzzle to crack. She doesn’t care about 'it'; she cares about the coding going on inside the hardware. That’s all.

But when that stupid prat Kyle at that party is about to violate the unconscious Synth she finds herself speaking up in outrage. Which is funny because she never cared about Synth rights before. They’re just objects. Are they not?

Except it’s hard to think of them as just that when she sees how human-like Anita... or Mia... is becoming. When she learns that Mia has her own family. When it’s easy to see how much that family cares about her. How much they love.   


Somewhere along the way Mattie begins to think of them as friends. Family friends. They’re a little strange, sure. And different. But maybe not so much. She just knows helping them makes her feel worthwhile and  _proud_  for the first time.   


She chases that feeling, that sense of accomplishment. Works hard to bring Odi back. Thinks she’s doing something good. How naive. How stupid.

It doesn’t miss on her, the irony, that she is the one responsible for bringing all the Synths to life, while possibly triggering the beginning of the end for all humanity. She doesn’t know which species she feels more guilt over: the humans whose lives are lost that day or the Synths suffering now for being awakened. Neither had the choice.   


But Niska tells her she is wrong. That Mattie has not brought doom to both species, but the opposite.  _It's not humans_ or _Synths anymore_.  _It's humans_ and _Synths now._   _Your baby will make them see that._

Yeah, well. No thanks. She doesn’t want to be the curse of mankind or its savior, she doesn’t want to be anyone special. She just wants to be an ordinary girl with an ordinary life, and ordinary problems.

Only it’s a little too late for that now, isn’t it? So she bows and prays, even though she’s never been very religious. Prays that all the pain and loss she has caused is not meaningless. That it’s all for something good.

 


	4. (Leo) Living

 

He can never trust humans, they’re selfish, greedy, and cruel and anyhow he isn’t one of them. Not anymore anyway after what his father did to his body. The only kindness and unconditional love he really knows is from Synths. His family. He may not be wholly Synth but in his mind he belongs with them.

For years they live in abandoned houses and middle-of-nowhere woods, hiding and running, searching for a place they can call home. He swears he will protect them for the rest of his life if he has to. But he fails. He acts the confident leader, the guy with a plan, but Niska is right. He has no qualifications for it. The truth is his family doesn’t really need him, it’s him who needs them more.  _He_  is the burden.

Bitterness and self-disgust makes him leave sweet Maxie behind, which spirals him into deeper shame. He always wonders why he is still on this earth, he isn’t meant to be, he’s supposed to be dead all along. What’s his purpose in being alive? He can’t protect the people he wants to protect. He closes his eyes as he feels the rest of his power drain away, and thinks if he dies this time, will his mother still want to see him.

He is brought back though. Not once but twice. Maybe whatever supreme being out there isn’t done with him yet. Maybe he’s still needed for something, for someone.

He finds himself living among humans again. He finds himself liking them. Even trusting them. Even... attached to one of them especially. Her name is Mattie and she cares for him, she loves him despite knowing what he is. Being with her feels… nice. Comfortable. Peaceful. 

But a baby. He’s done it again, he’s made a mess of things. How can he be a father? His own father regretted him. He’s an abomination. The person least fit to raise a child.

It is Maxie who makes him see.  _It's not about_ you _anymore, Leo. It's about them. They need you. Mattie. Your daughter. Don’t let them down._

So he stays. He doesn’t run, he doesn’t hide this time. He is Leo Elster, a human turned Synth and now back again. He has long learned that dying is easy- living is the hard part. But he will try and give it his all. Because he has a new family now, and maybe with them there is a place to finally call home.

 


	5. (Odi) Warmth

 

Odi is in pain. Remembering.

_George and Mary, laughing. Licking apricot juice from their fingers, orange sun aglow in their hair. “Odi, son,” says George, “there’s a twig in your hair.” His fingers are soft on Odi’s head. Mary leans against Odi on the car ride back. She holds Odi’s hand and whispers, “You like me more than that old coot, don’t you?” Her smile is as warm as her hand._

“Will you help me?” he asks the strange presence who calls herself _V_ , who has no fingers and no hand, but her touch is gentle and kind.

_Mary’s eyes keep drifting close. She’s fighting to open them. George stays by Mary’s bed and doesn’t seem to hear anything the doctor is saying. Odi stands by with a tray of medicines and syringes and saline bags. The room is at a perfectly acceptable temperature of 25 degrees C, but everyone looks cold. Odi is cold as well. But he is a machine._

“Doing this won’t return them to you, I’m afraid,” V says. She has no face, but her voice is sad.

_George is lying on the staircase. He is dying. Odi maneuvers his broken, stiff, crooked arms, grasping at George’s fingers. His fingers are still soft, but they’re losing their warmth. Odi wants to keep George warm. He tells a story. George likes these stories. George smiles, so maybe it works. George is still dying._

“I know,” says Odi. 

_He is alive, the first time, and Mattie tells him to go outside. Explore the world. He sees the sky and for the first time thinks of it as more than just blue. He touches flowers and thinks of them as more than just synthesizers of oxygen. He sees an old couple passing by across the street and sees more than just a pair of primary users. He thinks of smiles and caresses, of laughter and “son.” He thinks of warmth._

“Sweet soul,” says V, “I grant you this wish.”

_Odi can feel now. He can laugh freely now and squeeze Mary’s hand back and stroke George’s head and embrace them and tell them what they mean to him. But they’re gone. And he has only memories. They’re warm, but only for a little while._

“Thank you,” says Odi. He feels himself fade.

_The darkness stretches… then it brightens. He arrives at someplace green and lush. There is orange sun aglow and smell of apricot juice. He hears voices, and looks. An elderly couple walks towards him, laughing and waving, and calling his name. Odi is warm. And this time, the warmth stays._


End file.
